Facebook Slapped With First Fine for Cambridge Analytica Scandal

Facebook has been under scrutiny since allegations surfaced that London-based political consultancy used data from tens of millions of accounts to help U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign

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In this March 20, 2018, file photo, the Facebook logo is seen on the screen of an iPhone in front of a computer screen showing a Cambridge Analytica logo in Paris, France. The chairman of the U.K. Parliament’s media committee says the government office that investigated the Cambridge Analytica scandal has fined Facebook 500,000 pounds ($663,000) for failing to safeguard users’ data.

The chairman of the U.K. Parliament's media committee says the government office that investigated the Cambridge Analytica scandal has fined Facebook 500,000 pounds ($663,000) for failing to safeguard users' data.

Damian Collins said the Information Commissioner's Office concluded that Facebook "contravened the law by failing to safeguard people's information."

Collins said Wednesday that the company "should now make the results of their internal investigations known to the ICO, our committee and other relevant investigatory authorities."

Facebook has been under scrutiny since allegations surfaced that London-based political consultancy Cambridge Analytica used data from tens of millions of Facebook accounts to help U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign.

Zuckerberg Grilled Over Cambridge Analytica Data Usage

Sens. Bill Nelson and John Thune questioned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about why the social media platform did not inform more than 87 million users that their data had been harvested when a breach was detected.

(Published Tuesday, April 10, 2018)

The alleged offenses took place before the rollout of new European Union data protection laws that allow for much larger fines.